Nagpur, March 22 The late Gangadharrao Fadnavis, father of Devendra Fadnavis, shaped the thinking of both the Maharashtra Chief Minister and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, enabling them to view politics as a means of social service, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Sunday.
Speaking after inaugurating the Gangadharrao Fadnavis Diagnostic Centre in Nagpur, Bhagwat said the facility, which is for public service, is aptly named after a person who demonstrated through his life how a social and political worker should function.
"It was Gangadharrao who shaped the minds of Devendra Fadnavis and Nitin Gadkari, who can confidently say that politics means social service. Gangadharrao was skilled in connecting with people and keeping them engaged in social work. He remained honest and worked without self-interest while pursuing a larger social goal," Bhagwat said.
Despite limited resources and funds during his active years, Gangadharrao focused on bringing people together for a larger cause, and support followed as more people joined, the RSS chief opined.
Service is not a favour but a means of self-purification, and keeping the mind engaged in such work is essential, he emphasised.
There is a surge of people offering service during election periods, but such efforts are sometimes driven by self-interest or fear and does not sustain over a period of time, Bhagwat noted.
Speaking on the occasion, the CM acknowledged that the work done by his father had a huge impact on him to serve the society selflessly.
Expressing happiness at the inauguration of the facility, Fadnavis said the team behind the diagnostic centre had insisted that it be named after his father.
The CM said he and his family had never named any of their charity initiatives after his father, but the team behind the diagnostic centre managed to convince his mother.
The diagnostic centre has modern equipment to provide a wide array of services at affordable prices or even free, he said.
Observing his father's work during childhood had a huge impact on him and led him to serve society selflessly, Fadnavis said.
Due to inspiration from the RSS and its chief Mohan Bhagwat and under the guidance of Gadkari, various welfare initiatives are being run, Fadnavis said.
"The government has created a network of 4500 hospitals in Maharashtra providing free treatment for 2400 diseases. Along with this, there is also need for such diagnostic centres in big numbers," he added.
Recalling his close and long association with Gangadharrao, Gadkari said the former worked selflessly for the BJP and Jana Sangh in very adverse times.
He worked for the expansion of the party in Nagpur, Gadkari added.
Gadkari said he and Fadnavis are "ideology political workers", adding that the need of the hour is for all to understand the meaning of politics.
Politics is about serving the underprivileged in society, the senior BJP leader asserted.